Apparatus for cracking hydrocarbons and recovering gasoline



Feb. 26, 19249 m smaa M. H. KOTZEBUE ET AL.

APPARATUS FOR CRACKING HYDROCARBONS AND RECOVERING GASOLINE Filed May 5.1921 will be 'sa Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

HM'EEE stares Estates raiser castes.

mmimaim H. KOTZEBUE AND LEVI M. BOWMAN, or TULSA, oxnanom Applicationfiled May 5,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, 'MEINHARD H. Ko'rzn- Bun and LEVI M. BOWMAN,citizens of the United States, and residents of Tulsa,'in

the county of Tulsa. and State of Oklahoma,

and apparatus for cracking petroleum hydrocarbons and recoveringgasoline from gases. 1 V I One of the objects of the invention is toprovide an improved method and apparatus permitting of cracking highboiling petroleum distillates and other hydrocarbon oils and theirdistillates and the derivatives in order to produce the large yield oflight hydrocarbon liquids suitable for use in internal combustionengines and a further object is the provision of an apparatus which e,efficient, and free from the trouble of accumulation of carbon and thelosses experienced'in apparatus of this charcter now in use.

Y Another object is the provision of a method and apparatus permittingof the blending cracked hydrocarbon vapors with gas containing pentane,and other forms of -wild gasoline vapors, as well as the coinpressingand cooling of the cracked vapors and gases together in such way that alight gasoline substitute will-be produced of a nature super or toblended products now obtained, without the losses usually experienced inits manufacture.

Other objects" and advantages will be obions from the specification andfrom; the

fact that we 'ropose to take heavy hydro carbon oil or eavy petroleumdistillate and conduct it to highly heated cracking tubes having meansby which the fluids are vaporized before they reach the cracking chamberof the tube or tubes and are subsequently cracked by virtue of beingunder the proper pressure and heated to the'propertemperature in thecracking chambers of the tubes. The vapors are then released from thecracking tubes through orifices whose size determines the pressure andrate of operation. The cracked vapors are then collected and from thispoint may be handled according APPARATUS FOR CRACKING HYDROCARBONS ANDRECOVERI'NG GASOLDTE.

1921. Serial No. 466,978.

to the practice noW in use although our invention contemplates theconduction of the cracked vapors to a chamber where they are mixed withcold casinghead gases. The sudden cooling thus brought about in themixing chamber will cause the heavier hydrocarbons, mostly of theparaffin series, to condense and the gasoline vapors in the gas to blendwith the remaining cracked vapors which are conducted in their blendedstate to a knockout tower or dephlegmator. In the course of the passageof the blended vapors to this tower, steam is injected into the same forthe purpose of washing the vapors so that the final product will have agood odor and color, as well as for the purpose and in section forbetter identification and understanding,

Figure 2 1s an enlarged horizontal sectionthrough the apparatus alongthe axial line of one of the cracking tubes, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section through another portion of. theapparatus adjacent to the point of injection of the steam. A

Referring now to these figures we have shown an elevated storage'tank'10 which feeds through a line 11, although any suitable pump may besubstituted for t e elevated tank. In the line 11 is a pressureregulator 12, and beyond the pressure regulator' is a'cut ofi valve 13.With the 'va 13 open and the pressure regulator properly set, thedesired feed of heavy hydrocarbon or heavy petroleum distillate takes;place into a header 1 1 withwhich the feed line 11 connects, this headerbeing connected by a series of flanged unionsas at 15,- with thereceiving ends of a series of cracking tubes 16 within a furnace orother heater, J

In each of the cracking tubes 16, one of which is shown in detail inFigure 2 we form an equalization point between the liquid hydrocarbonsand the vapors thereof, located at one side of the furnace or otherheater 17, by means of wads of steel wool 18 unions 22 between which adischarge plate 23 is secured having a discharge orifice 24 aXIiJally ofthe discharge end of the cracking tu e.

Extending inwardly through stufing boxes 25 at vertically spaced pointsof the discharge header 21 in axial alinement with the several dischargeorifices 24, are lengthwise shiftable cleaning rods 26, preferablyhaving outer angular ends 27 forming handles and inner pointed ends 28which may be shifted inwardly through the orifices 24 for cleaning thelatter.

From the header 21 the crackedvapors are in further accordance with ourinvention led through a pipe 29 to a mixing chamber 30, although theymay from this point be handled in a manner similar to that usuallyemployed in handling cracked vapors in the ordinary gasoline formingrocesses.

According to our invention the mixing chamber 30 has a gas feed line 31connected therewith by means of which casing head and like gasescontaining gasoline may be fed to the mixing chamber. I-ntermixing ofthe cracked vapors and the cold gas is assured by the provision ofbaflles 32 in the chamber and by virtue of this fact the heavierhydrocarbons, mostly of the paralfin series, are

7 condensed and drained fromthe lower portion of the mixing chamberthrough a drain pipe 33.

The remaining lighter and intimately mixed hydrocarbons are dischargedfrom the mixing chamber through a plpe 34, to a knockout tower or dephleator 35, ipe 34 being preferably in sections dispose at an angle withrespect to one another as seen particularly in Figure3, and connected bya T-coupling 36, one leg of which is closed by a plug 37 carried by theinwardly projecting nozzle 38 of a steam feed ipe 39. Steam is thusintroduced whereby its force increases the pressure in the knockouttower 35, the further function of the steam being the thorough cleaningof the blended vapors to insure good odor and color.

The knockout tower 35 has lower and upper chambers 40 and 41 connectedby a pipe reac es 42 forming a means of communication therethrough andextending axially of the tower from its intermediate vertically spacedchambers 43 and 44, with the former of which the pipe 34 communicates.Chamber 43 is separated from the lower chamber 40 by an imperforatepartition 45, immediately above the blended vapors taken into chamber'43 pass upwardly through the chambers 43 and 44, the latter of which isfilled with steel shavings, broken tilin or some similar material. Thevapors, minus such condensation as is drained ofi through pipe 46, passupwardly into the upper chamber 41 and from this chamber downwardly tothe lower chamber 40-, it being observed that little loss of heat needbe experienced in this air passage in view of the fact of location ofcommunicating pipe 42 axially of and within the tower 35.

The blended vapors and gas pass from the lower chamber 40, minuscondensation withdrawn from the drain pipe 47, to a compressor 50 of anysuita handling wet vapors and gas, and the compressed vapors and gas areforced through cooling coils 51 to an accumulator tank 52 where the gasseparates from the liquid and passes outwardly through a gas dischargepipe 53 leading from the upper end of the accumulator. The condensedsteam is withdrawn through a pipe 54 at the lower portion of theaccumulator and the liquid hydrocarbon is carried by a pipe 55 to afilter 56 having any suitable filtering means therein. The filteredhydrocarbon finally passes from the filter 56 through a pipe 57 to anysuita' ble point of storage.

This apparatus while adapted to the carrying out of our improved methodin an eifective eificient manner may be varied to a considerable extentand it is to be understood that any suitable apparatus is contemplatedby our invention. As the apparatus is dew scribed, we utilize the samein the carrying out of our improved method by supplyingheavy h drocarbonproducts such as are obtained rom the treatment of crude petroleum,especially such inexpensive hydrocarbons that have a boiling pointhigher than 350 F., to the receiving header 14 under pressure. Thispressure may range from 5 to 150 pounds per square inch, depending onthe product utilized and the result desired. The header 14 distributesthe liquid hydrocarbon to the equalization or vaporizing points of theseveral cracking tubes as Is type capable of memes previously described,where the liquid hyseveral tubes holding back the liquids to such anextent that only the vapors ass through the cracking chambers'of the tues. For this purpose the discharge orifices 24 of the cracking tubesfind an important function and to insure any congestion of theseorifices, the cleaning rods 26 should be thrust inwardly through theorifices at least once in every twenty-four hours of continuousoperation. In view of the fact that the vapors only are exposed to thehigh cracking temperatures, only a very small amount of carbon is formedand this is in the nature of a dust which passes out freely with thevapors through the discharge orifices. The vapors are collected in thedischarge header 21 and have at this point a temperature ranging from550 to 900 F- The intensely heated vapors meet the cold gas in themixing chamber 30, and the sudden cooling of the vapors causes theheavier hydrocarbons, mostl of the paraffin series, to condense, thesebeing drawn off from time to time through the drain pipe 33. The vaporsand gases pass from the mixing chamber and after the injection of steamfor the purpose of cleaning and increasing the pressure, these gases andvapors enter the knockout tower and pass outwardly through the steelshavings or other material 44. This tower is air cooled and the shavingsof similar material absorb the heat from the vapors and cause the highboiling hydrocarbons to condense, these being drawn oil through thedrain pipe 46. The light vapors accumulate in the upper chamber 41 andpass downwardly to the lower chamber 40, but little loss of temperaturebeing occasioned by thisrtransfer due to the construction of the partsincluding the articular arrangement of the ipe 42 as previouslydescribed. Any condensation during this transfer and also anycondensation in the drocarbon 1s vaporized, the pressures in the l owerchamber 40, may be withdrawn through the drain pipe 47, and the productsfrom this drain pipe as well as the drain pipe 46 can of course be rerunor, to some extent at least blended with the final product.

' The compressor 50 receives the vapors and to 75 B., we maintain apressure of about 10 pounds and a temperature of 250 F. in the chamber40 and operate the compressor 50 so as to maintain a pressure of 200 to250 pounds in the cooling coils 28.

In the accumulator tank 52, the residue gas passes out through the upperpipe 53, the condensed steam is withdrawn through drain pipe 54, and thelight hydrocarbons pass out through filter 56 and from there to storage.

We claim:

In an apparatus of the character described, a heater, a cracking tubeextending through the heater, spaced sections of steel wool'within saidtube adjacent to its intake end and at one side of the heater, gravelbetween said sections of steel wool, reticulate disks within the tube toconfine said .steel wool and gravel in place, said tube having anapertured outlet plate therein adjacent to its outlet end and having anotherwise unobstructed internal passage within and across the heater.

mJrNHARn H. KOTZEBUE. LEVI M. BOWMAN.

